The EMHJ was launched in 1995 as a peer-reviewed medical journal. Starting January 2010, the Journal has been given a new format and is now published monthly. The EMHJ serves as a forum for the dissemination of biomedical information through the publication of scientific research papers on a range of topics related to public health, with particular relevance to the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

In this month's issue: Emergence of novel human coronavirus: public health implications in the Eastern Mediterranean Region; WHO/INRUD patient care and facility-specific drug use indicators at primary health care centres in Eastern province, Saudi Arabia; Epidemiological profile of invasive bacterial diseases in children in Casablanca, Morocco: antimicrobial susceptibilities and serotype distribution; Status and costs of smoking cessation in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region; Lid surgery for trachomatous trichiasis is negatively associated with visual disabilities and visual impairment in Oman; Status of mismatch repair genes hMSH2 and hMSH6 in colorectal cancer in Saudi patients: an immunohistochemical analysis; Prevalence and risk factors for spousal violence among women attending health care centres in Alexandria, Egypt; Cognitive factors related to childbirth and their effect on women s delivery preference: a comparison between a private and public hospital in Tehran; Upwind responses of Anopheles stephensi to carbon dioxide and L-lactic acid: an olfactometer study;Obstacles to undertaking research and their effect on research output: a survey of faculty members views at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.